On October 22, the Caribbean Courtroom of Justice (CCJ) dismissed an utility for an extension of time to use for particular go away in a homicide case from Belize, BZCV2024/A/CR001 Tevin Andrewin v The King and gave its causes for that dismissal on December 13, 2024.
Andrewin was convicted of homicide and sentenced to life imprisonment with eligibility for parole after 25 years. He sought to problem his conviction primarily based on identification testimony of an eyewitness, Shiyana Allen, and res gestae (a selected space of proof as an exception to rule that rumour proof is inadmissible) proof of the sufferer, Myrick Gladden, who recognized Andrewin because the shooter shortly after the incident.
The bulk within the Courtroom of Attraction discovered that the issues in conducting the identification parade didn’t make the method unfair, and likewise discovered that there was no foundation to intervene with the discovering of the Excessive Courtroom Choose or the conviction. A dissenting opinion, nevertheless, argued that these errors rendered the conviction unsafe.
In his utility to the CCJ, Andrewin claimed that his lawyer failed to tell him of the Courtroom of Attraction’s judgment in a well timed method, resulting in a delay in his utility for particular go away to enchantment. The Courtroom acknowledged the unlucky delay in notifying Andrewin of the judgment and emphasised the necessity for larger professionalism by attorneys within the discharge of their features. The Courtroom discovered that Andrewin had offered a legitimate motive for the delay, having filed the appliance inside 18 days of retaining professional bono counsel.
Nevertheless, the Courtroom concluded that the procedural flaws within the identification parade didn’t influence the equity of the method. Moreover, the res gestae proof from the sufferer was deemed highly effective and unambiguous, supporting the conviction. The Courtroom additionally famous that no arguments have been introduced within the Courtroom of Attraction to problem the sentence imposed by the Excessive Courtroom decide and there have been no arguments raised earlier than the CCJ to trigger interference with the sentence.
Finally, the Courtroom dismissed Andrewin’s utility, discovering no sensible likelihood of success in his enchantment.
The matter was heard by the CCJ President Justice Saunders and Justices Anderson and Rajnauth-Lee. Hector D Guerra and Leslie D Mendez appeared for Andrewin and Cheryl-Lynn Vidal SC and Sheiniza S Smith appeared for the King.
